Penang Bridge
| E36 Expressway | |
|---|---|
| Penang Bridge | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by PLUS Expressway Berhad and Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB) | |
| Length: | 13.5 km (8.4 mi) |
| Existed: | 1970's – present |
| History: | Opened 14 September 1985 |
| Major junctions | |
| East end: | Perai Interchange |
| West end: | Gelugor Interchange |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
George Town, Perai, Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam, Permatang Pauh, Sungai Dua, Bukit Tengah |
| Highway system | |
| Penang Bridge Jambatan Pulau Pinang 檳城-威省大橋 பினாங்கு பாலம் |
|
|---|---|
| Official name | Penang Bridge |
| Carries | Motor vehicles |
| Crosses | South Channel, Malaysia |
| Locale | |
| Maintained by | PLUS Expressway Berhad and Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB) |
| Designer | Government of Malaysia Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM) |
| Design | cable stayed bridge box girder bridge |
| Total length | 13.5km |
| Width | -- |
| Longest span | 225m |
| Constructed by | Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea) Ltd United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM) |
| Construction begin | 1970s |
| Construction end | 1982 |
| Opened | 3 August 1985 |
| Inaugurated | 14 September 1985 |
Penang Bridge (Jambatan Pulau Pinang in Malay)
is a dual carriageway toll bridge connects George Town on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. The bridge is also linked to the North-South Expressway in Prai and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang. It was officially opened to traffic on 14 September 1985. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km (8.4 mi), making it the longest bridge in Malaysia as and the fourth-longest in Southeast Asia. The bridge was designed by Penang resident, Professor Chin Fung Kee, a well known civil engineer. Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB) is the concession holder which manages it but now it is a member company of PLUS Expressway Berhad.
Before 1985, transportation between the island and the mainland was solely dependent on the state-owned Penang Ferry Service that runs between Butterworth and George Town. Toll fees is only paid when heading to the island. There is no charge for leaving the island.
Currently, Penang Bridge handles 65,000 vehicles daily and has a capacity of handling 85,000 vehicles daily. It has been expanded from 4 lanes to 6 lanes to accommodate increasing traffic on the bridge. A proposal for second bridge, the Penang Second Bridge, has been approved by the Malaysian federal government and included as one of the Ninth Malaysia Plan national projects. Construction work of the new Penang Second Bridge began in November 2008, and the target completion date is year 2013.
Recently, Penang Bridge was assigned with the route number
.
Contents |
Route background [edit]
The Kilometre Zero of the expressway starts at Perai Interchange of the Tun Hussein Onn Highway.
History [edit]
Chronology [edit]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Early 1970s | The idea to build a bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was suggested by the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Abdul Razak and the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang's Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu. |
| Late 1970s | Penang Bridge was planned during the term of 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Hussein Onn. |
| 23 July 1981 | Works Minister of Malaysia's Dato Seri Samy Vellu announced that Penang Bridge, Penang would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girder of the San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch in the style of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. |
| 1982 | Construction of Penang Bridge officially began. |
| 3 August 1985 | Official opening of Penang Bridge by the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad. |
| 14 September 1985 | Penang Bridge is officially opened to traffic. |
Current developments [edit]
Penang Bridge Widening Project [edit]
When the bridge was originally constructed, the central span had six lanes, while the rest of the bridge had four lanes. There was an ongoing project to have the entire bridge widened to six lanes. Work on the project began on January 2008 and was completed in late 2009.
Bridge specifications[1] [edit]
- Overall Length: 13.5 km (8.4 mi)
- Length Over Water: 8.4 km (5.2 mi)
- Penang Island Viaduct & Approach: 1.5 km (0.93 mi)
- Prai Approach: 3.6 km (2.2 mi)
- Carriageway: 3 lanes per carriageway
- Height of Tower Above Water: 101.5 m
- Height of Bridge Above Water: 33 m
- Main Span: 225 m
- End Span: 107.5 m
- Other Span: 40 m
- Speed limit: 80 km/h
- Maximum Gradient: 3.0%
Features [edit]
The bridge has an SOS emergency feature and traffic CCTV. The Gelugor Complex Interchange is the largest highway interchange in Malaysia. The bridge has a Tenaga Nasional TNB's 132kV power cable.
Tolls [edit]
Overview [edit]
Since 1985, Penang Bridge has been a tolled bridge. Fees are charged one way, when entering the bridge from the mainland and traveling towards Penang Island. There are no fees imposed for mainland-bound motorists coming from the island. Since 1994, the tolls have been collected by a private concession company, Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd, which has become a member company of PLUS Expressway Berhad.
Toll rates [edit]
| Class | Type of vehicles | Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM)) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motorcycles | RM 1.40 |
| 2 | Motorcycles with sidecars, cars including station wagons and commercial vehicles on three wheels | RM 7.00 |
| 3 | Lorries and vans with two axles and four wheels | RM 12.00 |
| Buses with two axles and four wheels | RM 6.00 | |
| 4 | Lorries, vans and buses with two axles and five or six wheels | RM 25.00 |
| Buses with two axles and five or six wheels | RM 12.50 | |
| 5 | Vehicles with three axles | RM 45.00 |
| Buses with three axles | RM 22.50 | |
| 6 | Vehicles with four axles | RM 60.00 |
| 7 | Vehicles with five and more axles | RM 75.00 |
- Note: Touch 'n Go is also available for light vehicles and motorcycles. The Smart TAG lane is for light vehicles only. In order to increase the use of the more efficient electronic payment system, any user with a Touch 'n Go card (and Smart TAG) issued from the Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd office will receive a 20% discount on the Penang Bridge toll.
List of Interchanges [edit]
This is a list of interchanges of Penang Bridge.
Tun Hussein Onn Highway side [edit]
| km | Exit | Interchange | To | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NORTH Alor Setar Permatang Pauh Seberang Jaya |
|||||
(TUN HUSSEIN ONN HIGHWAY) |
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0 |
PERAI INTERCHANGE | NORTHWEST SOUTHEAST |
Parcelo cloverleaf interchange | ||
| Railway crossing bridge | |||||
| EXIT 3601A EXIT 3601B |
PENANG BRIDGE INTERCHANGE | EXIT 3601A SOUTH Kuala Lumpur Ipoh Bukit Tambun EXIT 3601B NORTHWEST Perai Industrial Area SOUTHEAST Juru |
EXIT 3601A Stacked expressway interchange EXIT 3601B Cloverleaf interchange |
||
(TUN HUSSEIN ONN HIGHWAY) |
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Bridge side [edit]
| km | Exit | Interchange | To | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-Turn | U-TURN Perai Butterworth Customer Service Centre |
||||
| Perai toll plaza (PLAZA A) (Enter bridge only) PBSB TAG TnG TnG POS RM (Cash) Opened toll system Pay toll |
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| Perai toll plaza (PLAZA B) (Enter bridge only) PBSB TAG TnG TnG POS RM (Cash) Opened toll system Pay toll |
|||||
| P Perai toll plaza PBSB |
Customer Service Centre |
Enter bridge only | |||
| U-Turn | U-TURN George Town Bayan Lepas Customer Service Centre |
||||
| Penang Bridge 13.5 kilometres |
Start/End of Bridge Six lane carriageway |
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2 |
Penang Bridge | ||||
| 2.3 | |||||
4 |
Penang Bridge | ||||
| 4.5 | Penang Bridge | ||||
5 |
Penang Bridge | ||||
| 5.1 - 5.9 | Penang Bridge | Central span Cable stayed bridge |
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6 |
Penang Bridge | ||||
| 6.5 | Penang Bridge | ||||
7 |
Penang Bridge | ||||
| Penang Bridge 13.5 kilometres |
Start/End of Bridge Six lane carriageway |
||||
| EXIT 3602A EXIT 3602B EXIT 3602C |
GELUGOR-PENANG BRIDGE INTERCHANGE | EXIT 3602B WEST Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) Regional Office Jelutong Gelugor Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) (BAYAN LEPAS EXPRESSWAY) EXIT 3602C NORTH George Town / Weld Quay Air Itam Batu Feringgi EXIT 3602A SOUTH Batu Maung Bayan Lepas Industrial Area Penang International Airport Jerejak Island (Jetty) |
Stacked expressway interchange | ||
EXIT 3602B Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) interchange side [edit]
| km | Exit | Interchange | To | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional Office | Malaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional Office | |||
| EXIT 3602B WEST |
UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA INTERCHANGE | NORTH George Town City Centre Jelutong Gelugor Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) SOUTH Balik Pulau Bayan Lepas Penang International Airport |
Trumpet interchange |
EXIT 3602C Jalan Tunku Kudin interchange side [edit]
| km | Exit | Interchange | To | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco Penang | |||||
| EXIT 3602C NORTH |
JALAN TUNKU KUDIN INTERCHANGE | WEST JALAN TENGKU KUDIN Batu Feringgi Tanjung Bungah Air Itam |
Interchange from/to Penang Bridge and Bayan Lepas only | ||
( (BAYAN LEPAS EXPRESSWAY) PBSB border limit |
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(JELUTONG EXPRESSWAY) JKR and MPPP border limit |
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| NORTH (JELUTONG EXPRESSWAY) George Town / Weld Quay Komtar Ferry Sungai Pinang |
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Interesting facts [edit]
- Penang Bridge toll plaza (Prai) is the first toll plaza in Malaysia to introduce toll payment by Contactless Smart Card.
- Penang Bridge toll plaza (Prai) is the first toll plaza in Malaysia with smart card payment for all classes of vehicles.
- After construction works of Penang Bridge were completed in 1985, Penang Island became the first island in Malaysia to be connected to the mainland through land transport.
Commemorative Events [edit]
The Penang Bridge Commemorative Postage Stamps [edit]
The Commemorative Postage Stamps to mark the opening of the Penang Bridge on 1985 was issued by then the Malaysian Postal Services Department (now Pos Malaysia) on 15 September 1985.[1] The denominations for these stamps were 20 cents, 40 cents, and RM 1.00.
Major events [edit]
Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon [edit]
The Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon has been held every year since 1985.
Participants run over the longest bridge in Malaysia, Penang Bridge, and along a scenic coastal highway. This is the only time of the year when the bridge is closed for several hours. The biggest run in the country incorporates a marathon, a half-marathon and a quarter-marathon. The run has been jointly organised by the Penang Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang) and Malaysian Highway Authority.
For more information, see the Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon website.
See also [edit]
- Penang Second Bridge
- Penang
- North-South Expressway
- Jelutong Expressway
- Touch 'n Go
- Smart TAG
- Road signs in Malaysia
- Malaysian Federal Roads system
- Malaysian State Roads system
- Malaysian expressway system
References [edit]
- ^ "bridge details". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
External links [edit]
- Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd
- Malaysian Highway Authority
- Satellite Image of Penang Bridge at Google Maps
- Penang Bridge Blog - maintained by Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd, the bridge's operator
- Penang Bridge - Penang National Landmark
- Penang Bridge at Structurae
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Coordinates: 5°21′14″N 100°20′47″E / 5.35389°N 100.34639°E